Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Pasta with Creamy Veggies

Wanting a quick dinner, I used this recipe of Rachel Ray's as a base and modified the ingredients to suit what I had on hand. The result is a yummy, wholesome pasta with lots of veggies and a creamy taste.

CREAMY VEGGIE PASTA

INGREDIENTS:Penne (or any pasta) - 6 to 8 oz [I used half whole wheat pasta]Onion - 1 medium, sliced thinly and into 1 inch piecesGarlic - 2 to 3 cloves, mincedSpinach - 6 to 8 oz (frozen, chopped)Tomato - 1/2 choppedSun-dried tomatoes - 6 halves, reconstituted in boiling water for 5 minsZucchini - 1 medium, sliced into half-moonsBell Peppers - 1 medium, sliced thinCarrot - 1, slivered into thin matchsticks or Mushrooms - 8 slicedMilk - 1/2 cupVegetable stock - 1/2 cup Cream cheese - 3 to 4 ozParmesan cheese / Pepper jack cheese - 1/4 cupor more to tasteOlive oil - 2 tbspAll purpose flour (maida) - 1 tbspRed Chilli flakes - 1 tspDried Basil leaves - 1 tspHot Sauce (Sriracha) - to taste (optional) Salt and pepper - to tasteMethod:1) In a big pan, heat up lots of water for the pasta and when it boils season with salt and cook the pasta in it until al-dente. Reserve about a cup of pasta water and drain it. 2) Meanwhile, in a big, deep skillet, heat the olive oil and add the garlic and onions first.. cook till the brown a bit, next add the zucchini, bell peppers, carrots (or mushrooms) and saute till the vegetables are tender. 3) Defrost the spinach and wring it so it gets dry. Break it up with your hands and add to the vegetable mixture, along with chopped tomatoes, sun-dried tomatoes and red chilli flakes.4) When the veggies are cooked sufficiently, sprinkle the flour and stir for a few minutes before adding the vegetable stock and milk. This will thicken quite rapidly... Add in the softened cream cheese at this point and season with salt and pepper. 5) Add in the cooked pasta, dried basil and the cheese with some hot sauce (if using). Toss this together until the flavours get combined. Add some of the reserved, starchy pasta water if you feel it's drying out. Topp with more fresh basil if desired. Creamy Pasta with a load of veggies is now ready and all done in one pot!

I had never quite mastered the art of making idlis until I happened upon your detailed instructions. This was all the more embarassing since every one assumes I must make fabulous idlis since I am from Chennai. Now I wince no more when the topic of idlis comes around. I can happily lay claim to "malli poo" like idlis thanks to you!!! Thank you so much. Keep up the great work!!!

Bertolli makes a pretty good version of pasta with veggies and chicken. They also have a contest going on now: watch homemade videos on the Bertolli site: (www.bertollinightsin.com) and vote for your favorite. You could even win a trip to New York.

Varsha, I'm not sure where you live.. in the US, Sriracha is quite easily found in Vietnamese/Chinese markets (like Hmart, Grandmart etc.). Sun dried tomatoes are available at most grocery stores.. some are packed in oil and there are also dried up versions. Both these can be skipped in this dish and still have good results. The sriracha can be substituted with Maggi chilli sauce.